Put Your Feet On The Floor, Like A Queen!

There is a quote that says to be the kind of woman that upsets the devil every day, simply by getting out of bed.








I had literally just typed that first line of this post when my phone alerted me that a friend had just sent me a message. This is what they sent me:












Talk about immediate validation that I was starting off on the right foot, and no, do not pardon the pun.

I had a super yucky awful bad day yesterday. I have had plenty of days like it before, and undoubtedly have many ahead of me, should I be blessed with a long lifetime. Me and the devil go way back. He had a nice break during the years my ex-husband was able to intercede on his behalf, on a nearly daily basis, but he has stayed alert as to when to attack me. A lot of people do not believe in the devil, or spiritual warfare, but I sure do. If you prefer to think of the devil as "The Dark Side", or "Negative Energy", I would certainly agree to those terms as well. There is a common misperception of an angry-faced red man with a tail, horns, and a pitchfork. That is not at all what I think of, but it makes for cute Halloween costumes I suppose.

I have seen the devil many times, I know the dark side well. I saw the devil when I was physically abused as a little girl. I saw the devil while I was growing up in a tumultuous household I could not wait to escape. I met the devil in every person who has been cruel, or betrayed me, in 41 years of living. I saw the devil when I worked with men who were sexually harrassive, and ran around on their wives and families as they laughed about it. I saw the devil when I worked with children with behavioral and mental disorders, and the dysfunctional families whose homes I visited. I met a devil when I met my ex-husband and ended up having to deal with his intentional hurts and cruelty for over eighteen years of my life. I met a devil when I was raped, two different times. I see the devil on the news when I read about the horrors of the wars around the world, or the latest shooting of children, or innocent people, in my own country. I see the devil when I read food labels, or watch commercials on television. I have seen the devil take over the lives of people I have loved and cared about in the form of addiction, as well as illnesses. I have felt the devil in my own body in the form of disease, depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. I have had moments of my own where I have allowed the devil to infiltrate me through anger and negativity to the point of my unwittingly doing his deeds for him, as he smiled in delight no doubt.

It should be of no surprise to know there are many days I wake up and hesitate to get out of bed at all. A few months ago I was stricken with such a heavy depression I barely could get out of bed most days, not until the afternoon anyway. It lasted about a month. The devil was super happy that month as my feet were truly unable to hit the floor in the morning. My heart had been crushed to such a point that the fight had been temporarily sucked out of my soul.

I see the devil now, working feverishly hard, in members of my own family. We have come so far, survived the past few years of genuine earthly hell, and our efforts to keep moving forward are frustrating to him. I see the devil in financial setbacks, hurts and betrayals by family and friends, and dashed dreams. It is why I always go back to my brother from another mother, Job, and remember it is not my place to ask "why" to God. I do not enjoy being a punching bag to the world. I do not enjoy trying to shine whatever light I have to give only to have it constantly dimmed by nonsense. I am a lover of peace, not a soldier; but yet, I am a soldier. I did not choose, but I have been chosen. I need to armor up and soldier on, because even though I may not feel like fighting, the war of darkness versus light continues. Whether we accept it or not, it is happening. I refuse to be a pawn in the game when I am royalty, I want to be a queen.
As much as I have seen and felt the devil in my life; I have seen and felt God more. That is precisely why, even on the days it feels almost impossible, I will keep putting my feet on the floor.